Description:
<jats:p>Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is the most prevalent contaminant found in soil and groundwater and classified as a suspect carcinogen by Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Due to high water solubility, MTBE is not easy to be removed from contaminated groundwater. This study aimed to develop a novel and simple method to coat TiO2 photocatalyst on magnetic particles, evaluate its photocatalytic degradation effect on MTBE irradiated under visible (λ= 419 nm), and recollect easily from hydroponic systems with magnet. Iron nanoparticles are synthesized and added to TiO2 sol-gel followed by 500 oC calcinations. The results showed that the novel magnetic composite TiO2/Fe3O4 had significantly efficiency of photocatalytic degradation (91.6 %) for 10 ppm of MTBE under visible light irradiation and the recovery rate was relatively high as we recollected easily from recycled water using magnet.</jats:p>